The Standouts of Fashion Month

With New York, London, and Milan Fashion Weeks long gone and now Paris coming to a close, its time to roundup and reflect on all that we saw over this last month.  With so much visual stimulus, it’s hard to decipher what is relevant and what is not. That’s where we can help. Here are three major trends that hit the runway for FW15 that we believe will stick around for a while. Here we go!

Fur, Fur, and more Fur

On and off the runway, this trend is huge. This is trending already with street style and runway looks. It’s completely wearable and a really easy way to look extra lux. Wear it with a gown or pair it with joggers and a graphic tee – either way, it looks great.

FW15 Looks from Jason Wu, 3.1 Philip Lim, and Gucci
Photos via Style.com

Blurred Gender Lines

Have you ever played dress up in your boyfriends closet and thought maybe you look better in his clothes than he does. Don’t worry you aren’t the only one. Top designers like Gucci, Rick Owens and Raf Simons are borrowing styles classic seen in menswear and moving them into womenswear, and vice versa.

Gucci, Rick Owens, Houghton, & Raf Simons FW15
Photos via Style.com

The Intimate Connection Between Fashion and Technology

On Thursday, February 12, MBF stopped by NYFW at the BF+DA for the Closing Reception and Panel Discussion entitled, “Intimacy and Technology. ” The Closing Reception was located at the old Pfizer building that now is home to BF+DA, the Brooklyn Fashion and Design Accelerator, which provides the space and resources emerging designers need to start an ethically run business.  Some of these up-and-coming ethical designers were exhibited along side more known brands such as Wearable Experiments and Forster Rohner.

Photo via bkaccelerator.com

Inside Fashion Week

Our favorite week of the season is sadly coming to an end. New York Fashion Week, which is finishing up today, was full of amazing shows, events, and parties. 

Fashion Week for us started out at Nolcha Fashion Week’s Fashion Lounge on February 12 at Foga de Chao. The event showed emerging talents from independent fashion brands such as Solo Gel Nails, The Haute House Design Studio and Eva Shaw Jewelry. The event acted as a platform to meet new designers and network with industry professionals.

Nolcha Fashion Lounge at Fago de Chao
Photo Marko Krunik

Valentine's Day Ideas for the Single (and Taken) Ladies

If you didn't already know, Valentine's Day is swiftly approaching - and it just so happens to fall on a Saturday this year. Whether your single and ready to mingle or taken for good, looking for a super fancy date venue, or just wanting to spend time with the girls, we've got some exciting places for you to try this weekend.

For new couples:

For all you sappy, honeymooning couples, try the Nighthawk Cinema in Brooklyn. It's a really cool retro-inspired combination cinema/restaurant/bar. Literally "dinner and a movie" -  eat/drink right in the theatre playing indie-type movies like "Birdman" and "A Most Violent Year." This year they are screening "A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night." This would be a perfect place for that new special person in your life.

Photos via Nighthawk Cinema

#Selfie Makeover

With fashion week coming up, we want to look our best – not just with what we are wearing but our hair, makeup, and even nails. We compiled our top 3 favorite beauty apps complete with reviews. 

If you love taking selfies, Visada is the app for you. It’s a personalized beauty consultation designed around your selfie. Upload your picture into the app and explore different makeup options. Our favorite part of the app is the Pinterest-esque layout of the main page. You can explore celebrity looks, beauty products, and and makeup tricks from top makeup artists.

Review: I was really excited about this app before I even tried it.  After testing it out, I was surprised at how usable the app was. Not only does the app suggest beauty products, but also allows you to explore how different makeup ideas will look on your face, and then sends you to a video link showing you step-by-step how to get the look.

Check out my selfie transformation. 

Women Taking Control: Part Two

Back in December, we posted part 1 of this blog (link here) interviewing 2 women breaking barriers in their perspective industries. We spoke with 3 more women doing the same in media, banking, and fashion. These women are such an inspiration to us and we hope that you also get inspired!

Jamie Divenere, Project Manager of Viacom, is working to make the music group’s library completely digital.  Viacom, who consists of MTV, VH1, CMT and Logo has a content library of thousands of physical production, master, and audio tapes. Jamie is creating a self-service digital library that allows these tapes to be accessed digitally which saves the company time, space, and money.

Photo via Sarma Ozols

Guest Blogger: Natalie Kathleen on "Business Glamping"

One of our favorite guest bloggers, Natalie Kathleen, founder of Sienna Ray leather goods and Creative Director of Natalie Kathleen, is back on mbf TrendTalk with her insight on the newest trend we call "Business Glamping."

Disclaimer: I've written this via iPad propped up in the corner of Chelsea Market on the way home from spin class, after a late night in front of the laptop LCD, following a day running around based out of a client’s West Broadway WeWork office…

In complete contrast to my organized self requiring a detailed weekly schedule, the adventurous soul behind the business smiles with joy to act out the daylight hours as a workplace nomad. This ultimate gratitude is shared by many that leave the 9-5, or NYC 8-10 lifestyle in order to own the control on “Where shall I set up camp to get this brilliant business moving and shaking?” question.

MBF Interviews: Amy Puliafito from Misfit Wearables

Last week, the CEA hosted the annual Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, exhibiting the newest innovations in electronics. One event that caught our attention was WebMD’s FashionWare Show displaying the latest in wearables. Among smart watches and LED lit garments, we noticed a familiar device in the show from Misfit Wearables. 

We first took notice of Misfit at Decoded Fashion 2014 New York Summit, and have been following the company since.  Misfit’s latest line is a collaboration with the well-known jewelry house, Swarovski.  Misfit and Swarovski designed a collection of jewelry that effortlessly combines the functionality of the Misfit Shine with the beauty of Sworavski pieces, blurring the lines between fashion and technology. The collection includes a variety of pendents, wristbands and bracelets set to be released this Spring.

Swarovski Shine Activity Tracker
Photo via Misfit

New Year, New Career

2015 is here and you all probably took a hard look at the last year and thought, "Where is my career going?” So, we did a little research on what the hottest jobs in 2015 will be and came up with some advice for those seeking to advance their professional lives.

There’s no surprise that the fastest growing jobs are in technology. In particular, jobs in software and app development.  Who doesn’t want to be the founder of the next Uber or Instagram? We looked up some up-and-coming apps and found a few that we can’t wait to download. Workflow was one app that caught our attention. Basically, you can get directions, tweet, send messages and even make animated GIFs in one app.  Sounds pretty cool to us.  Another app, called Storehouse, allows you to create and share stories, basically a combination of all your social media sites into one app. Check out their website here. 

Photographer Brian Hawkings' post on Storehouse